Simulated non-woven corduroy fabric and method of forming the same



Jan. 30, 1968 Q HUGHES 3,365,918

SIMULATED NON-WOVEN CORDUROY FABRIC AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME FiledJune 16, 1966 8 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR: GEORG@ H. HUGHES BYMSMJJQQM#9i/maf.

ATTORNEYS Jan. 30, 1968 G. H. HUGHES 3,365,918

SIMULATED NoN-WOVEN coRDuRoY FABRIC AND METHOD oF FORMING THE SAME FiledJune 16, 1966 8 Sheets-Sheet S INVENTOR: GEORQE H. HuQHe-:

ATTORNEY 3 Jan. 30, 1968 G. H. HUGHES 3,365,918

SIMULATED NON-WOVEN CORDUROY FABRIC AND METHOD Oi" FORMING THE SAMEFiled June 16, 1966 8 Sheets-Sheet vZO ' INVENTOR GEORGE H. Hua-HESATTORNEYS Jan. 30, 1968 cs. H. HUGHES 3,365,918

SIMULATED NON-WOVEN CORDUROY FABRIC AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME FiledJune 15, 1966 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR: GEORGE H. HUGHES ATTORNEYS Jan.30, 196s G. H. HUGHES 3,365,918

SIMULATED NON-WOVEN CORDUROY FABRIC AND METHOD 0F FORMING THE SAME FiledJune 16, 1966 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Y s! INVENTOR:

ATTORNEYS Jan. 3o, 196s G. H. HUGHES 3,365,918

SIMULATED NON-WOVEN CORDUROY FABRIC AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME FiledJune 16, 1966 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 mvENToR GEORGE H. HUGH Es ATTORNEYS...lill/l] IIIIIIIIIIIIIII Jan. 30, 1968 Filed lJune 16, 1966 G. H. HU

GHEs 3,365,918 ORDUROY FABRIC AND l.'IMUh/UPED NONWO C METHOD OF MINGTHE SAME 8 Sheets-Sheet ff INVENTOR: GEORGE: H. HLJQHE ATTOR NEYS Jan.30, 1968 Filed June 16, 1966 G. H. HUGHES 3,365,918

SIMULATED NON-WOVEN CORDUROY FABRIC AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME 8Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR: GEoRqE- H. HUGHES www ATTORNEYS United StatesPatent O 3,365,918 SIMULATED NON-WOVEN CORDUROY FABRIC AND METHOD OFFORMING THE SAME George H. Hughes, Granby, Quebec, Canada, assignor toBeacon Manufacturing Company, a corporationof `Delaware yContnuationin-part of application Se'r. No. 477,440, Aug. 5, 1965. Thisapplication June 16, 1966, Ser. No. 559,057 ,s Y 2 Claims. (Cl. 66-192)ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Anon-woven simulated corduroy fabric andmethod of producing same formed from a self-sustaining batt of nonwovenfibers extending generally in the widthwise direction of the fabric toprovide strengthland stability to the fabric in the widthwise direction.The fabric is formed with a special stitch construction utilizing twoyarn ends in each stitch and being arranged in closely spaced'apartparallel rows of chain stitch portions on the obverse side of the fabricand extending in generally the lengthwise direction of thetfabric andarranged in interconnected diagonally extending and straight line stitchportions on the reverse side of the fabric for providing strength andstability to the fabric in both the lengthwise and widthwise directions.The rows of chain stitch portions on the obverse side of thefabriccompress ,the non-woven batt along the rows to form correspondingparallel depressed areas therealong and the portions of the batt betweenthe rows of stitches being substantially uncompressed and definingspaced, parallel ribs. The fibersl of the batt forming the ribs have cutends `and are upstariding lto provide a surface on the fabric having theappearance and feel simulating that of conventionally-woven corduroyfabric.

This is a continuation-impart of my prior application Serial No.477,440, filed August 5, 1965, and now abandoned.

Conven'tionalfcorduroy fabric is normally woven in a special manner toproduce initially parallel rows of fioats extending in a fillingwise`direction. These fioats are then cut and the fabric finished to give thecorduroy effect. Corduroy fabric is by definition and in actual practiceproduced from a woven material` and although non-woven materials havebeen used for different end products heretofore,` they have not beenproduced in suitable base form or suitably processed for obtaining asatisfactory corduroy li;|i,h. Conventional? non-woven materials, withor withcut chemical bonding, are not suited for making cordurcy fabricbecause they do not have the necessary ribbed construction and cannot beprocessed to obtain the usual Corduroy finish.

In accordance with the present invention` a simulated corduroy fabrichaving the desired construction and corduroy tinizh has been producedfor the first time, from a nonwoven material; This product has theeconomical advantage of not requiring a woven base fabric or anyweavingcpcrations whatsoever. Furthermore, in contrast to the usualnon-woven materials, the non-woven base used in this invention ismarkedly strong and is adapted to be processed to provide the desiredcorduroy finish without damage to the non-woven base. This new result isobtained without the necessity of any chemical bonding.

The new product of the present invention is obtained with a non-wovenbatt of textile fibers by stitching through the batt with a special typeof machine that produces a ribbed construction in the batt. Thisstitched batt contains closely spaced apart parallel rows of chainstitches that penetrate through the batt and form parallel spaced solidribs of fibers between thc rows of stitches on the obverse 3,365,918Patented Jan. 30, 1968 P t ice side of the batt. On the reverse side ofthe batt there are two sets of stitches, described below, thatcofunction with the parallel rows of `stitches on the obverse side toimpart great strength to the stitched non-woven batt such that it may berigidly processed to provide a desired.

corduroy-type finish` without damage to the batt.

In a typical embodiment, the non-woven fibrous batt is stitched with theabove-mentioned special machine so as to form spaced parallel rows ofdouble yarn chain stitches on the obverse side while forming on thereverse side diagonally extending stitch portions of one ofthe yarnsthat interconnect the parallel chains and .while forming straight linestitch portions of the other yarn. This stitching operation causesraised parallel ribs of uncompressed fibers of the fibrous batt to beformed on the obverse side of the fibrous batt and between the parallelrows of double yarn chain stitches. Thereafter, the uncompressed fibersof the ribs on the obverse side are processed to produce a soft cordedsurface effect simulating that of conventional woven corduroy fabric.

The processing of the stitched non-woven batt to provide thecorduroy-type finish may be effected by first cutting the fibers alongthe raised parallel ribs, then brushing the cut fibers to cause them tostand up and finally shearing the ends of the cut and brushed fibers inthe parallel rows to give a soft, napped, surface effect simulating therows or ribs of conventional woven corduroy. This processing operationcomprising the steps of cutting, brushing and shearing may be carriedout con jointly with the stitching operation and in coordinatedsequential steps.

The stitching of the non-woven fibrous batt may be carried out byfeeding the batt through a machinehaving a set of reciprocating needleswhich penetrate through the non-woven batt. The` machine also includestwo sets of yarn guides for supplying corresponding first and secondsets of yarn ends to the needles with each penetration of the nonwovenbatt by the needles. Preferably, the machine also includes means foroperating the two sets of yarn guides so that one set of yarn ends iscontinuously fed to the same needles with each penetration of thenon-woven batt while the other set of yarn guides is shogged betweenadjacent needles following each penetration of the non-woven batt by theneedles to form diagonally extending cross-linking portions on thercverse side of the non-woven batt.

Other features of the present invention will be understood from thefollowing more detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which-- FIGURE l is an isometric view of theobverse side of the simulated non-woven corduroy fabric of the presentinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing the reverse side ofthe fabric;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a small portion of theobverse side of the stitched non-woven fibrous batt and illustrating the`appearance of the same FIGURE 6 is a front elevation of a suitable typeof stitching machine with which the non-woven fibrous batt is initiallystitched together;

FIGURE 7 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line7-7 in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged sectional view of the upper yarn guide andshowing the support means therefor;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged sectional view of the lower yarn guide andshowing the support means therefor;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary plan view looking down on the upper yam guideshown in FIGURE 8, being taken substantially along line 10-10, and alsoillustrating the cam meansfor moving the yarn guides transversely of theneedles;

FIGURE l1 is a fragmentary plan view of the lower yarn guides andillustrating the cam means for moving the yarn guides transversely ofthe needles, being taken looking along the line 11-11 in FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 12 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the central portionof FIGURE 7, showing the relationship of the needles and the yarn guidesto the non-woven batt as the stitches are formed therethrough;

FIGURES 13 and 14 are somewhat schematic fragmentary views of the upperand lower yarn guides and illustrating the manner in which they operateto feed the yarn to the needles as they penetrate the non-woven fibrousbatt; and

FIGURE 15 is a schematic view of the equipment for processing thestitched non-woven fibrous batt toform the simulated corduroy fabric,and showing the fabric passing through the equipment. l

The obverse and reverse sides of the simulated nonwoven corduroy fabric,generally referred to at 10 and constructed according to this invention,are shown in FIG' URES 1 and 2, respectively. This simulated non-wovencorduroy fabric 10 is formed initially, as shown in FIG- URES 3 and 4,from a stitched non-woven batt 20 which is subsequently processed toform the simulated corduroy fabric. .2 j

As viewed from the obverse side in FIGURE 3, this stitched non-wovenbatt comprises a series of spaced longitudinal depressed areas orvalleys 21 and a series of parallel uncompressed fibers forming raisedparallel ribs 22. The reverse side of the stitched non-woven batt, shownin FIGURE 4, is substantially fiat, that is, it does not include theparallel ribs seen on the Obverse side of the batt 'm FIGURE 3. l i

Parallel rows of chain stitches are formedy along each of the valleys 21(FIGURE 3) and compress the fibers of the non-woven batt in these areas.The stitch loops along each chain are successively connected and eachstitch loop is formed of two yarns, indicated at Y-l and Y-2.

The reverse side of the fabric 10 and of the batt 20 (FIGURES 2 and 4)has a geometric pattern of stitch loop portions including straight linestitch portions 24 which are formed of the first yarn Y-l and extendparallel to the chain stitches and valleys 21 on the obverse side of thebatt 20. The reverse side also includes diagonally extending stitchportions 25 which are formed of the yarn Y-2 and interconnect theparallel rows of chain stitches on the obverse side.

The non-woven fibrous batt 20 may be formed of a plurality of cardedlaps in which the individual fibers are substantially parallelized andextend generally in one direction. The individual fibers preferablyextend transversely or widthwise of the non-woven batt and may be laidin this direction by cross-lapping. The non-woven batt is then passedlongitudinally through the stitching machine so that the parallel rowsof chain stitches extend longitudinally or lengthwise of the batt andcross-wise or transverse to the direction 0f the fibers so as to providemaximum strength in the finished product. If desired, a batt of randomlydisposed fibers may be used instead of builtup carded laps.

The non-woven batt or base 20 may be formed of natural or syntheticfibers or blends of mixtures of the same and the fibers may be in theform of filaments or staple bers of various lengths. A commerciallyadvantageous form of material, from a cost and availability standpoint,is viscose rayon. Other examples of suitable fibers are cotton,polyamides, polyester and acrylic fibers or blends. The yarns Y-l andY-2 which are used for stitching the fibrous batt 20 may be of variousnatural or synthetic fibers or blends but continuous filament syntheticyarns are advantageous to obtain relatively high strength and to preventbreakage in the manufacturing operation and to also give good tensilestrength to the finished fabric. A commercially, advantageous form ofyarn for this purpose is filament nylon yarn of approximately 10G-150denier.

A suitable type of machine for stitching the non-woven fibrous batt 20is illustrated in FIGURES 6-14. This machine forms no part of thepresent invention and is not being claimed herein. As shown in FIGURE 7,the nonwoven fibrous batt 20 is carried along a horizontal conveyorapron 30 as it enters the stitching machine. The batt W is then carriedupwardly at an angle on a conveyor apron 31 which is suitably supportedand driven to deliver the batt to the stitching mechanism broadlyindicated at 32 in FIGURE 7. As the stitches are formed through thenon-woven batt 20, it passes between a knock-over comb 34 and a webholder bar 35 (FIGURE 12). After the stitches are formed in the batt, ina manner to be presently described, the stitched non-woven batt 20passes between trimming edge cutters 37, positioned at opposite edges ofthe fabric, only one of which is shown in FIG- URE 12. The stitched battthen passes over driven takeup rolls 40 and around an idler roll 41. Thebatt then is withdrawn from the machine and passes between driventake-up rolls 42 which feed the stitched batt to a wind-up or take-upapparatus, now shown.

As best shown in FIGURES 13 and 14, hooked needles N are embedded attheir rear ends in molded needle bar segments 44. The forward ends oflatch elements L extend through the needles N and their rear ends areembedded in molded latch bar segments 45. A cam shaft housing 50 (FIGURE12) is suitably supported at opposite ends on opposite side frames 5l,52 (FIGURE 6). A main drive cam shaft 54 (FIGURE l2) is rotated from thedrive mechanism of the machine to impart rotation to eccentrics, such asindicated at 55 in FIGURE 12, to impart movement to suitable controllinkage and control the operation of the needles N, the latch elementsL, the web holder bar 35, and sets of respective upper and lower yarnguides G-1 and G-2, in a manner to presently be described.

As shown in FIGURE 12, levers 59 and links 60,"61 control the movementof the latches L and needles N so that the free ends of the latches Lmoves into position to close the hooks of the needles N after they havepenetrated the non-woven web W.

The outer ends of the upper yarn guides G-l (FIG- URE 10) are embeddedin molded yarn guide support segments which are in turn fixed on anupper guide bar 62. At spaced intervals along the guide bar 62, theinner ends of support brackets 63 are suitably secured thereto and theirouter legs support opposed ends of slide plates 64. Medial portions ofthe slide plates 64 are suitably supported in a support bracket 65 whichhas means in the form of an adjustment screw 66 (FIGURE 8) for adjustingthe position of the yarn guides G-l, relative to the needles N. Thebracket 65 is fixed on a yarn guide control shaft 67, opposite ends ofwhich are suitably supported in the end frames 51, 52. Oscillation isimparted to the guide control shaft 67 by means of a lever 68 (FIGURE12) which has the forward end of a link 70 connected thereto. Theopposite end of the link 70 is connected to a suitable lever 71 (FIGURE12) to which movement is imparted by means of the eccentric 55 and therotating main cam shaft 54, in the same manner as. movement is impartedto the lever 59.

As shown in FIGURE 11, the outer ends of the lower yarn guides G-2 areembedded in groups in molded guide support segments which are in turnsecured on a lower guide bar 72. At spaced intervals along the guide bar72, the inner ends of support brackets 73 are fixed thereto. Guideplates'74 are suitably connected at opposite ends to the legs of thebrackets 73 and supported for sliding movement intermediate their endson a bracket 75, which is fixed on the guide shaft 67. An adjustmentscrew 76 (FIGURE 11) is provided Afor adjusting the position of the yarnguides G-2, relative to the needles N. As oscillation is imparted to theguide control shaft 67, the upper and lower yarn guides G-1 and G-2 arecaused to be shifted radially of the shaft 67 and are thereby raised andlowered, relative to the hooks of the needles N.

In FIGURES and 11, means is disclosed for imparting longitudinalmovement to the guide bars 62, 72 and for thereby shogging the yarnguides G-l and G-2 in a direction transversely of the needles N sothatthe corresponding yarns Y-l and Y-2 may be fed to selected needles. Theyarn guide shogging means includes constantly rotating drive shaft 80which is rotatably supported in a housing 81 that is fixed to the outersurface of the side frame 51. The housing 81 preferably contains asupply of lubricant to maintain the parts therein in constantlubrication. A

A pair of control cams 82, 83 are replaceably secured to the rotatingshaft 80 and'their motion is transmitted to the respective guide bars62, 72, by any suitable linkage. In the present instance, rollers 84, 85engage the respective cams 82, 83 and are connected to one end ofoperating links 86, 87 which are suitably secured at their other ends tothe respective guide bars' 62, 72. Suitable springs 90, 91 are providedto maintain the rollers 84, 85 in engagement with the cams 82, 83. Thus,the cams 82, 83 control the transverse movement of the guides G-1 andG-2, relative to the needle N, 'and different cams may be used so thatchain stitches may be formed by either or both of the yarn guides G-land G-2, either or both of the yarn guides G1 and G-Z can be movedbetween the needles in a zig-zag movement, or one set of guides can forma chain stitch on the same needles while the other set of yarn guides isshogged.

As has been pointed out in connection with the stitched non-woven batt,shown in FIGURES,3 and 4, both the yarns Y-l and Y-2 are fed to thehooks of the needles N with each penetration of the needles N throughthe nonwoven batt. As shown in FIGURES 13 and 14, the yarns Y-1 fed bythe yarn guides G1 are always fed to the same needles and thereforerequire very little shogging movement by the cam 82 (FIGURE l0) whilethe guides G-2 are shogged one needles distance to form the diagonallyextending cross-over stitch portions 25 (FIG- URE 4). Therefore, the cam33 (FIGURE 11) must have a greater throw than the cam 82 so as to impartsufficient transverse movement to the yarn guides G-2 (FIGURE 14). Thus,the yarns Y-1 are fed to the hooks of the same needles N after eachpenetration of the nonwovenbatt while the yarns Y2 are fed to the hooksof certain needles after a given penetration of the nonwoven batt andthen they are fed to the hooks of adjacent needles after the nextpenetration. It is to be understood thatboth of the yarns Y-1 and Y-2are stitched together to form the double yarn chain stitches in thevalleys 21 on the obverse face of the batt (the side opposite that shownin FIGURES 13 and I4), as shown in FIG- URE 1.

As shown in FIGURE 7, the yarns Y-l and Y-2 are supplied from respectivewarp beams 94, 95 and are directed upwardly therefrom and over suitablecombs 96and tension rods 97 (FIGURE 12). Suitable drive means, notshown, is provided in the gear compartment adjacent the end frame 52 forpermitting the warp beams 94, 95 to let-off at the desired speed so thatthe yarns Y-1 and Y- 2 will be fed to the yarn guides at the properrate.

The stitched non-woven batt, shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, is furtherprocessed to open up the uncompressed fibers of the ribs 22 or toproduce the soft surface effect or ribs, generally indicated at C inFIGURES 1 and 5, simulating that of conventional woven corduroy fabric.

This processing, as illustrated in FIGURE 15, may include cutting,brushing and shearing of the stitched batt 20. As illustrated therein,the stitched non-woven batt is led from the stitching machine, shown inFIG- URES 6-14, through a cutting mechanism generally indicated at 100.This cutting mechanism is illustrated as an antique cylinder of a finegauge adapted to rotate in the direction of travel of the stitched batt20. The cutting mechanism 100 includes a plurality of hook-shapedcutting blades 101 spaced apart from each other a distance equal to thespacing of the ribs 22 in the-stitched batt 20. As the cutting mechanismrotates, the blades 101 will engage the fibers in the ribs 22 bringingthem on the inside cutting surface thereof to be cut and opened up. Itis noted that the speed of rotation of the cutting mechanism 100 is muchgreater than the speed of travel of the stitched batt 20 to insure theopening up and cutting of substantially all of the surface fibers in theribs 22.

Following cutting and opening up of the fibers in the ribs 22, thefabric is led forward through a brushing or napping mechanism, generallyindicated at 105. This mechanism may be any conventional brushing ornapping device and operates to lightly brush the cut bers in the' ribs22 to cause the cut fibers to assume a more or less erect position.

Lastly, the fabric is led through a shearing apparatus, generallyindicated at 110. This apparatus may be of the type produced by Parks &Woolson Machine Co., of Springfield, Vermont, and known in the textiletrade as a Merrimack Shear. The apparatus includes curved shearingblades adapted to shear off the uneven, opstanding cut fibers in theribs 22 without attening the ribs to produce the even, soft surfaceeffect or ribs C in the simulated non-Woven corduroy fabric 10.

The above-mentioned sequential processing steps of cutting, brushing andshearing the stitched non-woven batt cofunction to `give the desiredsoft, raised corduroy effect simulating that of conventional wovencorduroy.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention and, although specitic terms are employed,they are used in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation, the scope of the invention being dened in the claims.

I claim:

l. A non-woven simulated corduroy fabric comprising:

(a) a self-sustaining batt of non-woven fibers extending generally inthe widthwise direction of said fabric to provide strength and stabilityto said fabric in the widthwise direction;`

(b) a plurality of stitches penetrating said batt and holding saidnon-woven fibers together, said stitches being arranged in closelyspaced apart, parallel rows on the obverse side of said batt andextending in generally the lengthwise direction of said fabric forproviding strength and stability to said fabric in the lengthwisedirection, each of said rows of stitches comprising chain stitchportions utilizing two yarn ends in each stitch and compressing saidbatt along said rows to form corresponding parallel depressed areastherealong, the portions of said batt between said rows of stitchesbeing substantially uncompressed and denng spaced, parallel ribs, saidstitches being arranged in interconnected diagonally extending andstraight line portions on the reverse side of said Ibatt for providing anon-corded effect and for providing strength and stability to saidfabric in both the lengthwise and widthwise directions, said diagonallyextending stitch portions being formed by one of said two yarns utilizedfor said chain stitch portions and said straight line stitch portionsbeing formed by the other of said two yarns utilized for said chainstitch portions; and

(c) each said rib being cut partially through the thickness of said battintermediate said rows of stitches on said obverse side of the fabricforming rows of upstanding cut ends of fibers to provide a surface onsaid fabric having the appearance and feel simulating that ofconventional woven corduroy fabric.

2. A non-woven simulated corduroy fabric, as set forth in claim 1, inwhich said upstanding, cut end fibers of said ribs are parallelcylindrical convexities with simulated corduroy characteristics.

References Cited l UNITED STATES PATENTS 8 1,860,090 5/1932 Fowler112-412 1,961,139 6/1934 Elder 161-50 2,121,285 6/1938 Cone 161-50 t2,155,212 4/1939 Zenorini 112-411 2,695,438 11/1954 Bejeuhr 28-152,890,579 6/1959 Mauersberger v 66-192 3,168,883 2/1965 Ploch et al.112-v411 FOREIGN PATENTS 695,120 9/1965 Canada.

OTHER REFERENCES AATT Publication, Papers of the American Assn. forTextile Tech., Inc., November 1965, paper presented on Sept. 8, 1965,toA meeting of American Assn. for Textile Tech., Inc., in New York City,-by K. W. Bahlo.

20 HERBERT F. ROSS, Primary Examiner.

